Monday, June 29, 2015

29th
June 2015 – a momentous day for Chennai -
we have been reading about ‘Chennai Metro’ - rapid transit system for too long and it has
become a reality today.Phase I of the project, which
consists of two corridors covering a length of 45.1 kilometres (28.0 mi), is
under construction – that can be felt as you travel in Chennai – as you would
see works in progress at many parts of the city – the already narrow roads
shrinking further and some traffic snarls.
Chennai has local trains running from Central to Arakonam; Central to
Ponneri; Chennai Beach to Tambaram EMU
line and MRTS from Beach to Velachery – the metro project is to integrate all
of them together.

Hindustan
Times photo

A distance of 10 Kilometers from Koyambedu to
Alandur, the first phase of the much anticipated multi-crore Metro Rail chugged
off today with Chief Minister Ms.J
Jayalalithaa flagging off the inaugural service from the state secretariat through live video. The route
dedicated to the public is an elevated structure covering a distance of 10.15 km,
consisting of Alandur, Ekkathuthangal, Ashok Nagar, Vadapalani, Arumbakkam and
Koyambedu Railway stations besides the yard at the last stop, a state
government release said. This route runs
mainly on the busy 100 ft road and would cater to lakhs of commuters when fully
completed.

The first train
having four coaches, left at 12.15 pm from Alandur to Koyambedu and was driven by A Preethi, a 28-year-old diploma holder in
engineering from Government Dharmambal Polytechnic College here.The
flower decked sprawling and swanky Alandur metro station, the biggest in
Chennai, was brimming with activity, with enthusiastic passengers eager to
board the first train."I am excited, my daughter's dream of becoming a
loco pilot of Metro Rail has come true," Preethi's father R Anbu told PTI.
He explained how his daughter was chasing her dream of becoming a loco pilot
after the metro rail project began taking shape. "She quit her first job,
applied for a job in Chennai Metro rail, and she was the first woman to get selected,"
he said with joy.

The 10 km stretch
from Alandur in southern Chennai to Koyambedu which houses an inter-state bus
terminus and also a vegetable wholesale market would be covered in just 19
minutes. This includes the stoppage time at six stations. By road, when traffic
is smooth, the same distance can be covered in 45 minutes. During peak hours it
may get doubled.

There will be a metro train service
every 10 minutes. Each train can carry upto to 1,276 passengers.The minimum
fare on the train is Rs 10 and the maximum fare is Rs 40. While some may jump to say that fares are
high – it is an airconditioned train and the stations will have to be
maintained – in MRTS – the travel from Beach to Velachery costs a measly Rs.5/-
[unbelievable Rs.120 for a monthly pass !] which certainly needs multiple
upward revision.

Newspaper reports
suggest that immediately upon inauguration, DMK and Congress
parties claimed credit for the scheme, claiming it to be their master plan for
the city. Stalin recalled his trip to Japan as the minister for local
administration to seek a loan for the project.

On Jan 25, 2015,
the Hindu had this photo of two women and a report – two modestly-dressed young women stand small in
front of a towering silver-blue train. Normally, there would be nothing special
about the scene, except these two women will soon be behind the controls of the
train. They are A. Preethi and G.
Jayashree — the only two women train operators for Chennai Metro Rail Limited
(CMRL).Both women are in their 20s and joined CMRL in September 2013, after
finishing their diploma in electronics and communication.There are driver-less
Metro Rail trains in the world. Even Chennai Metro trains are equipped with
automatic operating systems.“However, operators are required to monitor the
movement of passengers. Also, initially they will be required to give command
of the speed. But the system won’t let them go beyond 50 kmph. If they do, the
trains will automatically come to a halt. We have also designed several other
automatic provisions for safety,” says an official of CMRL.

As part of their
training, Preethi and Jayashreehad visited Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, met
their counterparts there and drove trains in Delhi’s test tracks.